In the sailing craft art, cam cleats for maintaining the sail lines or rope taut are well known and commercially in use. Although there are variations in structure, each of the prior art cam cleats are unidirectional relative to the gripping jaws. Accordingly, in use on a sailing craft, to control the jib sails, a first and second cam cleat grips the line to maintain the line taut in the opposite direction. The one cam cleat is operably independant of the other; and the one must be disengaged prior to the other coming into use.
In addition to the necessity of purchasing two cam cleats, there are other attendant disadvantages with the prior art cam cleats. To maintain the rope/line taut in a given direction opposite from a prior direction, the rope must be relieved from the one cam cleat and then forced to grasp the jaws of the other cam cleat. The sailors motion is cumbersome and in some instances the sailor may be shifting continuously from one cam cleat to the other.
Most cam cleats are fixed in position to a single direction and the opposite cam cleat is fixed in a single in-line direction. With the sail going from one position to another, the angle of the rope/line will be at some intermediate angle relative to the cam cleat. Certain prior art cam cleats are pivotally mounted on their end opposite the gripping jaws. Although the pivot does permit the movement of the line to some intermediate angle, the disengaging of the one cleat to switch to the opposite cam cleat is further complicated and made cumbersome. The cost of the cam cleat pivot is also doubled.
With the use of an endless rope/line from one clew of the spinnaker to the other, the prior art does not provide a convenient method of cleating the end opposite the spinnaker pole.